Restored Dreams
by SolidSonicTH
Summary: My first romantic fanfic ever. Sasuke finally comes to terms with his actions in the past and realizes what he has to do to make them right. PTJ SakuSasu I don't mind suggestions in your reviews.


_**Restored Dreams**_

_**By Sonic TH**_

_Disclaimer: Naruto and all associated characters are owned by Mahashi Kishimoto._

_(Author's Note: I have a bad habit of starting fanfics then not knowing what I really wanted to do once I do. On top of that, this is my first romance fic and frankly, I find it a little weird (mostly being a guy and all, I mostly write action fanfics). Anyway, the point is, if you can offer suggestions on where I should go as the story rolls on, please offer ideas. I'm good at starting tales but bad about seeing them to the end.)_

_This could be construed as an alternate universe since I don't know directly know what happens after the time-jump (since I don't read the manga, a lot of what I know is conjecture and information I gathered from So, that said, this story assumes that no one from Konoha came in contact with Sasuke since he left (in the manga, as I hear it, Sasuke has already seen Naruto and Sakura)._

**Chapter 1: He Returns**

_I've tried to forget…I've tried to let go…and since its been over two years…I think I've finally gotten over it…or did I?_

It was a sunny day in the Country of Fire. The birds were chirping and the skies were clear for miles. A group of four came walking over the horizon.

They were wearing backpacks and walking slowly, taking in the sun. They were casually talking and laughing. The group was composed of two males and two females. The first one was wearing a black coat and standing next to a large, four-legged creature covered in white fur. In fact, this large creature was a dog. The person walking alongside it was Inazuka Kiba. The dog was Akamaru, his loyal comrade.

Next to him was a pink-haired girl wearing a brown dress and a red top. She was blissfully chatting with the other three members of her group.

"Wonderful day, isn't it Sakura?" Kiba said. Haruno Sakura nodded in agreement as she watched the trees pass by. _Its been a while since we got a day such as this_, she thought to herself.

The last two members of the group were walking together. The blonde-haired boy's arm was draped over the quiet girl's shoulder.

"Hinata-chan, what do you want to do when we get back?" he asked. The girl was Hyuuga Hinata and the boy Uzumaki Naruto. She twiddled her fingers as she thought.

"I don't know, Naruto-kun. We could go back to my house and…watch movies…" Hinata replied in a quiet, somewhat unsure voice. She was still getting used to the idea that she didn't need to be secretive about her crush on Naruto and it was hard to shed old habits. Naruto almost turned his nose up at the idea of such a boring suggestion but he knew better than to senselessly hurt his girlfriend's feelings.

_These last few months have taught me quite a bit…_ Naruto thought as he bit his lip.

The four were heading back to Konoha after their latest mission. They had spent the last few days in the Country of Swamp as liaisons for the Country of Fire. Recent tensions between the country leaders and the Country of Rain had sparked a potential crisis. The shinobi from the country had secretly contacted the Fire Country and its more powerful ninja army as the Swamp Country lacked the resources and manpower to combat the Rain. The mission to the Swamp was to notify the country leaders that the Country of Fire and the Villiage of Konoha were pledging their allegiance to the cause of the Swamp.

Sakura was given the position of team leader for this mission by the Godaime Hokage herself, Tsunade, due to their personal relationship. She had great faith in her medical-nin skills and wanted to employ the four-person team that she had suggested many years before. Leaving Sakura at the head would ensure the team had a medical-nin among the chosen.

Though the mission was a mere C-rank, Sakura felt that anything could happen. She decided to bring along a well-rounded squad. Kiba and Hinata had advanced to the rank of Chuunin and she felt she could make good use of their skills should they encounter an adversary. Kiba's superior sense along with Akamaru's nose would prove useful for scouting traps. Hinata's Byakugan would provide additional surveillance and her mastery of the Jyuuken taijutsu style would prove to be a useful if they encounter a melee situation.

And then there was Naruto. While he was not officially a Chuunin, to everyone including Tsunade, he was only a Genin by name. His skills and field abilities were that of a Chuunin since he had spent the last two years training with Jiraiya. He was often selected to participate in missions with other Chuunin and was simply waiting for the next Chuunin exam to come so he can officially graduate to the rank. Sakura had chosen him due to his superior physical conditioning. The fact that he and Hinata were getting closer as of late was a simple coincidence.

Thankfully, the mission had been fairly quiet. Sakura was expecting possible resistance from the Rain Country but so far, nothing had presented itself. The team was asked to perform some protective duties for the leader of the Swamp Country but otherwise, they had completed their task promptly. As they walked home, things were pristine.

_Hm…something's not right…_ Sakura thought. She had let her guard down since they had reentered the Fire Country but something was starting to bother her. "Guys, stop," Sakura said to the others.

The other three team members stopped, having noticed Sakura falling behind.

"What is it?" Kiba asked Akamaru. Akamaru had started to growl when Sakura spoke up. "Guys, Akamaru smells something. I'll go with him a-"

"Look out!" Hinata shouted as she pointed behind Kiba. Naruto immediately drew a kunai. Just then, a ninja had appeared out of the trees wielding a sword. He was wearing what appeared to be a gas mask. Naruto tossed his kunai but it passed harmlessly through the ninja. It was a Bunshin clone, an immaterial replication of the real attacker.

_Genjutsu…I should have known_, Sakura thought. Her normally keen sense had been thrown off by the seemingly perfect weather. The team had actually been caught in the middle of an illusion. The attacking ninja had blanketed the area in a shroud of good weather. He had created the sounds of birds chirping to distract them from the sounds he made as he slid through the trees as well as manipulated the tree positioning in the illusion to mask his movements. Sakura began to slide on her black gloves in preparation for battle.

Suddenly, more ninja appeared. They all were wearing gas masks and dressed in the attire of the Rain-nins. Soon, the team was surrounded by a group of 9 ninja. They all took their swords by both hands and entered a ready position in unison.

"These aren't real!" Sakura shouted. "Hinata, can you use your Byakugan to locate the real one?"

Hinata nodded and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, she uttered "Byakugan" and her eyes were quickly covered by veins that ran to the back of her head. She stood still as her 360-degree vision surveyed the surrounding forest. "There," she said as she pointed into the trees to the west. "He's watching us from there, about 15 meters in the trees."

"Kiba, you and Aka-" Sakura began. She was suddenly cut off when a second, unseen ninja had appeared from the trees behind them. He too had masked himself in an illusion jutsu and was waiting for the team to be distracted by his comrade. Hinata had not seen him because she was searching for the first assailant and had neglected to search for other attackers. Sakura attempted to pull out a shuriken to respond to the ambush but the Rain-nin simply passed overhead and dropped a number of smoke bombs before returning to the nearby tree cover.

"Agh! I can't see!" Naruto shouted to whomever could hear him. He could only hear his teammates coughing behind the thick veil of purple smoke.

"Akamaru…can't smell anything…this smoke is disrupting…his nose!" Kiba responded, between coughs.

"We…need to…gettt…owww..tt…" Sakura tried to rally her team but it was too late. The smoke was in fact a knockout gas and she was on the verge of collapse. She fell to her knees as she heard the rest of her team crumple to the ground before slipping into unconciousness.

"Sa…ku…raaa…" Naruto said weakly before he too was out cold. Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata were already on the ground.

When the smoke had cleared, the two ambushers arrived at the scene. One of them lifted Sakura onto their shoulders then they both darted off into the forest. What no one saw was a mysterious cloaked figure sitting on a high tree branch. He had seen everything and when the two ninja had come to retrieve Sakura, he followed them into the forest…

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_Uhh…what…happened?_ Sakura wasn't sure if she had said that or merely thought it. She was just reentering consciousness. Her mind was confused and riddled with disorganization. The last thing she remembered was getting attacked by the Bunshin clones then could only draw hazy images of what happened next. She tried to get up but then she noticed her arms and legs were bound. She struggled but her strength still hadn't returned. From what she could see, they were deep into the forest.

"She's waking up…" a voice to her left said. Her vision was still blurry so she couldn't make out who was speaking. "Did she have it?"

"Nah…" another voice started to speak off to the right side of her head. "I think we caught these kids too late…"

Sakura slowly raised her head up to see who was speaking. It was the two Rain ninja who had ambushed them. They had removed their gas masks and she could see their faces.

"What…what do you want?" Sakura said in a strained voice. "Why did you attack us?"

"Merely business," the ninja to her left responded. "We were sent by our village head to track you guys down. Our mission was to stop you from getting to the Swamp Country with the treaty that would align your country with theirs. We can't have anyone interfering in our conflict with the Swamp and you guys were just unlucky enough to have been the ones sent to give them the message."

"But I can see we were given bad intel," the other ninja began. "We found you after you were returning from your mission."

"So, since we hate to waste a trip out to your lovely country, we've decided to kill you. We'll take care of your friends later," the first ninja said with a dark voice. He put his hand under her chin as she tried to turn away. The Rain ninja slowly drew his kunai as he moved it closer to her neck. "Try not to scream…it'll only make things worse…"

"You can't!" Sakura cried, fully conscious now. "You would be taking my life on my own country's soil! The Hokage will not stand for it and your country will pay for this!"

"Well, I'm sure we'll work that out later," the second ninja said with a smirk. The kunai was touching Sakura's skin by this point and all the ninja had to do was pull it and it would cut Sakura's neck, doing a fatal wound. She continued to struggle but to no avail.

Just then, another kunai sliced through the air and collided with the kunai being held by the Rain-nin. The knife spun out of the Rain ninja's hand and away from Sakura's neck. Both knives landed with their points in the ground a meter away from the Rain ninjas.

"What was that!" the second ninja said frantically. He had drawn his sword by this point and was looking back and forth quickly.

"I don't know but I think someone was watching us…" the first ninja said, having drawn another kunai and preparing to defend himself from the unseen attacker.

The pair had heard the trees rustle behind them. They both quickly turned around to face the sound. As they stared at the tree, a figure in a dark brown cloak slid out of the tree and landed gracefully on his knee. His face was shrouded by his cloak's long hood. On his back, he was carrying a sword, similar to the one wielded by the Rain-nin. Sakura could only watch as this mysterious stranger stood up calmly.

"Don't touch her…" he said. His voice was deep and quietly angered but there was something vaguely familiar about it to Sakura.

"Or what? Are you going to try to save this girl?" the first ninja said, in a humored tone. He tossed his kunai behind him and it stuck into the stump that Sakura was tied to. The kunai had missed her head by a small margin. She let out a shriek and turned her head away.

"I said…'don't touch her'…" he repeated slowly, even sterner than before. Neither of the two Rain ninja seemed to take his threats seriously as they both prepared to fight the unknown person before them. He rested his hand on the handle of his sword as he waited for them to strike.

"Forget this, Kyo! Let's just kick his ass!" the ninja holding the katana said. He held his sword near his head and broke into a sprint, charging at the cloaked man. He swung his sword vertically as he neared, hoping to strike this man's neck. The man easily read his movements and stepped to the side to avoid the slash. Taking advantage of his disorientation, the man chopped him in the neck and knocked him to the ground.

"Honda!" the second ninja said. Honda was struggling to get off the ground as the cloaked man prepared for his partner's attack. He pulled out a kunai from inside his cloak and held it downward. He stood at ready to face Kyo's attack. Kyo had pulled out a second kunai and began to dash toward his attacker. He moved from left to right in an attempt to enter his opponent's blind spot. But his adversary was simply too perceptive and cut him off in mid-run. In a flash of blinding speed, the cloaked man slashed through Kyo with his kunai. Kyo took two clumsy steps forward before clutching his gut and collapsing. The unknown man was clearly unfazed as he returned the kunai to his cloak and was ready to take out Honda.

Honda, however, was not so keen on fighting this skilled combatant. He saw what had happened to his partner and was not about to let that happen to him. As soon as he saw his fellow Rain-nin hit the ground, he knew that the same would happen to him unless he escaped from the battle with his life intact. He quickly got to his feet and attempted to run for the trees for cover.

"Not happening…" the cloaked man said quietly as he quickly unsheathed the sword on his back. He gave chase and followed him into the brush, leaving Sakura still tied to the tree.

_Who was that and why did he want to save me? That was so strange and yet it felt unusually familiar all at the same time…_ she thought, still mesmerized by his agility and precision.

The cloaked man caught up with Honda in a nearby clearing and forced him into a duel. Honda unsheathed his sword nervously and prepared himself as best he could for what might be his last fight. The cloaked man stood before him with his sword out at his side. He thrust its blade into the ground and clasped his hands together.

_What's he planning?_ Honda wondered to himself.

The mysterious man began to perform a series of hand seals. At the end of the sequence, he cupped one of his hands as a blue ball of Chakra began to take form in it. It sparked and glowed brightly and appeared as if it were a ball of raw electricity. The man suddenly clasped his hand into a fist around the ball, forcing the electrical energy into his arm. With this power still flowing through his arm, he picked up his sword, which instantly inherited this power from his arm.

_What kind of man is this! Is he a Chuunin? Or even a Jounin!_ Honda thought, as he stared at this man's power. He raised his sword in an attempt to block the man's next attack. Unfortunately, thanks to his sword's energized state, his sword was immediately sliced at its blade, rendering it useless.

"Guh!" Honda said in shock, looking at his destroyed sword. He dropped the sword and stumbled backwards until he hit a large tree behind him. Cornered, his face twisted with a terrified expression at what was about to happen to him.

"Hmph," the man grunted as he simply tapped Honda's leg with his energized sword. Instantly, Honda crumpled down, his leg gone numb from the energy coming in contact with his nerves. The man then tapped his left arm with the sword, causing that limb to also fall limp.

"Please! Don't kill me!" Honda said, pleading for his life.

The man said nothing as he dropped his own sword. The Chakra returned into his arm and took the form of electricity again. He used his other arm to grab Honda by the neck and hoist him to eye level. He raised his energized arm and cupped his hand again. The ball of electricity formed once again in his palm. Honda's face became panicked as he looked at the sparking Chakra.

"CHIDORI!" the man shouted as he thrust the Chakra toward Honda's chest. A blinding light quickly enveloped the clearing.

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Sakura could hear that shout from where she was still tied up. She turned her head toward it and saw a brilliant light erupt from the top of the forest as the nearby birds quickly scattered from the spot where it originated from.

_It couldn't be…but there's only one person aside from Kakashi-sensei who knows the Chidori…_ Sakura said, trying to wipe the doubt from her mind.

The cloaked man slowly walked back to the tree stump where Sakura was still bound. He walked behind the stump and cut the wire that bound her. She got off the ground, dusted herself off, and picked up her nearby backpack. When she was standing, the mysterious man turned to face her at eye-level.

"Tha…thank you," Sakura said, still a little confused by the whole situation. "Who are you?"

The mysterious man said nothing as took off his sword and lowered his hood. He removed his coat and dropped it to the ground. Underneath, he was wearing a pair of black pants and a loose shirt that barely hung over his shoulders. He put his sword back on his back and turned his head up to face Sakura.

Sakura gasped when she saw who had saved her. She covered her mouth in awe. "S…S…Sa…" she stammered. She couldn't even finish his name because she was so overtaken with surprise.

He ran his hand through his spiked black hair and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Sasuke," he said, finishing what she couldn't. Uchiha Sauske, the ninja who left two years ago to seek power from the evil Orochimaru, was the one who had saved her life. "Sakura, I can't stay but I want to see you again. Meet me tonight near the edge of Konoha. I'll explain everything then."

All Sakura could do was nod, still awestruck by the moment. Sauske quickly turned to the trees and jumped into its branches, swiftly vanishing amongst the leaf cover.

_I…I should…I should get back to my team_, she reasoned in her head, doing the best she could to get herself back to Earth. She walked through the trees back toward the path where the team was ambushed.

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A few minutes later, Sakura made her way out of the trees and back to the path. By this point, the rest of the team had woken up and were searching for her. Hinata had noticed her coming out of the woods and Naruto ran over to her as she emerged.

"Sakura! You're alright!" he said in relief of her safety. "Were you hurt?"

"N…no," she said. "They just tied me up but I managed to…get free…" Her mind was clearly still elsewhere.

"Why did they capture you?" Kiba asked, who was riding on Akamaru's back. Sakura simply looked up at the sky, still distracted by her thoughts. The rest of the team were somewhat perplexed by her behavior. Its as if she was hypnotized by something.

"Oh…" she said, suddenly realizing that everyone was looking at her strangely. "Le…let's go home…we need to tell Hokage-sama about the attack," she told everyone, turning toward Konoha and walking up the path. They simply shrugged and followed her.

_I can't believe he'd actually save me…_Sakura thought, thinking back to how Sauske of all people was the one to save her. She tried not to think about it since that would give away her secret meeting that night. Besides that, she had to maintain her composure before she went in front of Tsunade with the mission report.

"Sakura…" Hinata said. Sakura was so wound up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Hinata had approached her side. "Is…is something bothering you?"

'No…I'm still just a little shook up from the ambush. It was supposed to be an easy mission so I was surprised that we did get attacked," she replied. She smiled to reassure Hinata that she was fine. "Still, we should keep our eyes open. There's still a few miles between here and Konoha and I don't want to be caught off-guard like that again."

The four cautiously continued their walk toward Konoha as Sakura waited in anticipation of what that night would bring…

_**To be continued...**_

_(A/N: Well? How was that? It's my first romance-fic, like I said. So it took me a while to find a good subject matter. Please review. I've got plans for what to do for the next chapter but afterwards, I'm at a loss for a good, cohesive conclusion so I'm open to suggestion. You just come up with the ideas and I'll implement it. I'd LIKE to finally finish a fanfiction for once.)_


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